Gas-generator.



E. M. HOOVER.

GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1910.

Patented July 4, 1911.

xmmeowo EDWARD M. HOOVER, OF LAPEL, INDIANA.

GAS-GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1911.

Application filed February 28, 1910. Serial No. 546,472.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. HOOVER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lapel, in the county of Madison and State of Indiana, haveinvented a new and useful Gas-Generator, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of my present invention is to provide an apparatus by meansof which gas may be generated as required, and the generationautomatically suspended as the supply reaches a predetermined point, andbe automatically resumed as the supply decreases beyond thepredetermined point.

An apparatus embodying my said invention will be first described and thenovel features thereof then pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

similar reference characters indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is acentral vertical sectional View of an apparatus of the character inquestion embodying my said invention; Fig. 2 a detail sectional viewshowing another position of some of the parts, and Fig. 3 a similar viewshowing still another position.

The main tank 21 is stationary, and con tains a supply of water. WVithinit is arranged a gas holder 22, which is adapted to rise and fall as thesupply of gas is increased or decreased.

Above the gas generator is arranged a receptacle 23 for the material forproducing the gas, usually calcium carbid, this receptacle being in aposition to discharge downwardly, the mouth or discharge orifice beingat the under side and extending to within the gas holder. This mouth ordischarge orifice is provided with a valve 24, which is controlled by alever 25, andwhich is adapted to be operated to be opened and closed bythe ascent and descent of the gas holder, as will be presentlyexplained. The side walls of the structure which embodies thegas-material receptacle 23 are shown as extending to the bottom of themain tank 21, and supported thereby in stationary position.

The gas holder 22 is in the form of an annular chamber surrounding thestructure 23, and is situated within the walls of main tank 21. Theupper side of tank 21 is open and its lower side is closed, as is commonin gas tanks of ordinary design.

At one side of gas tank 22 within a recess between the adjacent walls ofsaid tank and the main tank 21, a rod 26 is positioned, the lower end ofwhich is connected by means of lever 27 and link 28 with the lever 25which controls valve 241. Lever 27 is shown as pivoted at 29 in asuitable stand 30, and is provided with a stop 27 which, when the rod 26is in its lowermost position will come in contact with the side of saidrod, and thus first cause said rod to move slightly sidewise so thatprojection 31 will be disengaged from point- 34 and then prevent thelatter from further movement, as said stop 27 operates as an abutmentagainst which rod 26 will bear and its movement be thus stopped, the

act-ion being similar to that of a rule-joint in this particular. Therod 26 is provided near its upper end with a projection 31, and alsocarries upon said upper end a shifting catch 32 in the form of abell-crank lever. Secured to the wall of tank 21 adjacent to rod 26 is acam arm 33.

The operation of these several parts is as follows: Assuming the partsto be in the position indicated by Fig. 1, (where the gas holdercontains gas enough to hold it above the projection 31 when rod 26 is inits upper position and valve 24 is thereby closed) the gas holder 22, asit descends, will through a trip 34 thereon, engage with projection 31and force rod 26 downwardly. The cam arm 33 being in the path of thatarm 32 of the shifting catch which is at the time in a horizontalposition, will tip said catch from the position shown in Fig. 1 to theposition shown in Fig. 2. The further descent of the gas holder willcarry the rod 26 to the position shown in Fig. 3, and the partsconnected thereto to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Asthe parts reach this position, the projection 27 besides acting as astop, will also serve to push the rod 26 slightly to one side, asindicated in Fig. 3, throwing the projection 31 thereon out of the pathof projection 3-41 of the gas holder, this being permitted because ofthe fact that the catch 32 has by this time passed below the overhangingportion of the cam arm 33, as also shown by Fig. 3. The opening of valve24 consequent upon this movement permits a quantity of the gasgenerating material to descend through the mouth of the receptacle intothe water below, whereupon the generation of gas immediately begins. Thegas as it is generated, flows through the inverted siphon-like tube 35into the gas holder; and, when sufficient gas has been generated tocause the gas holder to rise, projection 34 engages with the arm 32 ofthe catch 32. The first effect is to move said catch and the rod 26 towhich it is attached upwardly. WVhen the upward movement has continueduntil the catch has passed the upper end of cam arm 33, then the catchwill be returned to the position shown in Fig. 1, and there remain untilafter the gas generated by the operation has been exhausted, and the gasholder again descends, when the operation is repeated. The gas emergesas it is desired for use through pipe 41. Water is supplied when neededthrough a funnel shaped inlet 42. A pipe 43 having an open lower end iscarried by the gas holder 22, and said lower end normally extends belowthe surface of the water in tank 21. A pipe 44, also open-ended, extendsin through the side of tank 21 and thence up inside of pipe 43 to apoint above the normal water line. The result is, should gas holder 22be raised beyond the predetermined point, that the lower end of pipe 43would be raised out of the water, thus permitting gas to escape throughsaid pipe and pipe 44, and thus relieve the apparatus from an unduequantity of gas or too great pressure. The receptacle 23 is re-chargedthrough the mouth in the upper side which is closed by a cover 45, andthis cover is shown as being kept tightly closed when the apparatus isin use by a screw clamp 46 carried in a suitable housing 47.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in an automatic gas generator, of a tank, agas-material receptacle, a gas holder, a valve to the discharge orificeof the gas-material receptacle, a cam arm secured to the wall of themain tank, an operating point on the gas holder, a rod passingtherebetween and having a shifting catch on the upper end thereof and aprojection near said upper end, and connections leading from said rod tothe valve for the gas-material receptacle.

2. The combination, in an automatic gas generator, of a main water tank,a floatable bell mounted therein, a gas-material receptacle arranged todeliver into the water tank, a valve controlling the flow of materialfrom said receptacle, an operating member connected with said valve, andinterengaging means between said operating member and bell for operatingthe valve by the vertical movement of the bell, said means comprising anautomatically withdrawable and returnable detent automatically projectedinto engaging position by downward movement of the bell andautomatically retracted by upward movement of-the bell in excess of themovement of the operating member sufficient to close the receptaclevalve, whereby initial upward movement of the bell from its lowerposition will first close the receptacle valve and thereafter causeretraction of said detent to permit further upward movement of the bellindependent of the valve operating member.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal atIndianapolis, Indiana, this twenty-fourth day of February, A. D. onethousand nine hundred and ten. 7

EDWVARD M. HOOVER. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

CHESTER BRADFORD, THOMAS WV. MoMEANs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

